A/N: I finally watched S8 and I have… opinions. Pretty much all of the bigger fics in this verse I had ideas for faded away after watching it, so now all I have the inspiration to write are little cute things like this. Let me know what you thought!

Deviations

There wasn't anything special about that Tuesday.

At least, Keith thought it was a Tuesday. It was a little hard to tell, having been up in space for however-many deca-phoebs. He supposed it didn't really matter, though. Their schedules now, which were mostly dictated by alarms and sirens and sleep-depriving strategic assaults, were not exactly based on a seven-day workweek anymore.

He didn't mind. It was just a regular day, a regular operation. The balance of the universe was slowly being restored, thanks to their work. The stars twinkled around them in the endless expanse, filling the screen of the Castle of Lions with an array of glittering constellations so bright that it felt ridiculous to think that there had been a horrendous battle raging in the system only a few vargas before. The Blades had assisted them in their endeavours, and together, their efforts had born fruit. The people they had sought to help were safe, the invading Galra driven away, and his team- his family- were in one piece.

Things should have remained as regular as he might have imagined. The Voltron Paladins wandered back into the Castle of Lions once the lions were all safely docked, their riders meeting up in the bridge for a final debrief of the situation at hand. Albeit tired, everyone brought cheery smiles to the room, and the air was lighter than it had been for the days leading up to the operation.

"And that was the last planet in this star system," Coran cried ecstatically, clapping his hands together in delight. "Paladins, we did it! We can officially move onto our next quadrant!" With an overdramatic sigh, the man slumped over his console, punched in a few numbers, and delighted in the pink icon onscreen turning to green- proof of their victory.

"Good job!" "Alright, guys!" "We nailed it!" "Oh yeah, who's the best?" Everyone cheered at once, hi-fiving and hugging each other with the taste of sweet victory upon their lips. The Galra's oppressive regime had been dealt a decisive blow, and the citizens of that star system were now safe.

Keith nodded proudly, looking up meaningfully at each of his comrades as he pulled off his helmet and tucked it under his arm. "Their leader has agreed to talks of joining the Coalition," he explained, meeting each of their eyes. "We did it, everyone."

"All thanks to my sharpshooting skills. No need to thank me," Lanced huffed cockily.

Allura rolled her eyes and traded mischievous glances with the mice. "Whatever you say, Lance," she laughed airily.

"We did do good, though! And you know what that means?" Hunk leaned forward, propping his hands on his hips with flashing eyes. Grinning cheekily, he pointed towards the door, patting his stomach with the other hand. "That means that we deserve some food goo. Like, now. I was starving since before we even began the fight! So what're we waiting for?"

Pidge nodded, typing away at her console quickly before straightening up and stretching. "Ditto, I'm starving. Let's go!"

Coran crossed his arms, humming in agreement. "Paladins, you all did an excellent job today." He skipped over to the door, where he paused, turning back to look over his shoulder for just a moment. "So good, in fact, that I might break out a bottle of nunvill!"

The collective groans from the room echoed through the bridge as everyone began trickling out of the room, quiet complaints filling the air at the thought of consuming more of the Altean drink.

It drew a small chuckle out of the Black Paladin. He hung back, staring up at the star chart pulled up on the central holo-screen. There was so much green on that screen now- while the pink icons indicating the Galran-occupied territory still massively outnumbered the Coalition, seeing the rapid influx of new members to their cause left nothing but hope for the future in his heart.

He wasn't a bad leader. He was doing right by his team. It was working.

It was just a regular day.

And then… it wasn't.

From the door to the bridge, Lance paused, glancing back at the Black Paladin. He raised a brow and leaned against the doorframe, gesturing for the other boy to join him as the rest of the team headed towards the cafeteria. "Yo, Keith," Lance called, eyes kind despite his teasing tone, "you comin'?"

And Lance just smiled at him, and suddenly, Keith's entire world turned bright. It was as if every single light in the luminescent Castle of Lions had suddenly dimmed away to nothing, leaving behind nothing but a spotlight upon the Cuban boy's face. Keith's eyes widened imperceptibly, heat rising up in his cheeks as he took in the blue Paladin's visage. Has he… always looked like this?

Suddenly, Lance's tanned skin seemed to glow, hair tousled from his helmet and growing just a little longer than he liked, but he hadn't cut it yet and it curled adorably on his forehead- his eyes crinkled at the corners in cheery crescent moons, baby blue irises glowing under thick lashes- his cheeks, smooth and clear from all of his facemasks, were tinted red from the exhilaration of their latest mission- his teeth flashed brilliantly through parted lips stretched into a coy, welcoming smile- and every bit of him in that moment seemed so sweet and warm that Keith melted.

Oh. That's… new.

And it was new, with his heart leaping into his throat and his eyes affixing themselves onto Lance's. He had never felt this way before, never even thought it was possible to feel so light and free and relaxed outside of his lion. And yet, here he was, standing on the bridge of the Castle with one hand gripping onto his helmet for dear life, the other one trembling in a fist as his stomach fluttered in a way he'd never experienced. His mouth was dry, and he swallowed heavily as the words caught in his throat, mouth opening and closing in vain as he searched for what to say.

Lance crossed his arms and frowned playfully. "Yo, Team Leader, is something wrong?" The boy's brows furrowed after a moment, play giving way to genuine concern. "Hey, if you need anything-"

"Nothing's wrong!" Keith squeaked, cursing himself for how his voice cracked halfway through the words. He chewed his lips, eyes still wide and trained on Lance's face- still glowing, still so eerily perfect in his eyes.

Lance scowled, but the easy smile reappeared quickly. He jogged over to Keith and slung an arm around the boy's neck. "Well then, what are you waiting for? Let's get some food goo! Maybe Hunk's learned to make a new flavour other than… goo," he cheered, dragging Keith down the hall.

The quiet boy didn't reply, keeping his eyes fixed on the hand that was now holding onto his shoulder as he clumsily followed Lance. Every point of contact between his body and Lance's seemed to tingle, and it took all he had to fight the blush which threatened to burn his cheeks.

Finally, they reached the cafeteria doors. Inside, they could already hear the group laughing and talking, with Hunk's voice calling out from the kitchen commandingly. "Fashionably late, I like to say," Lance laughed, releasing Keith's shoulder.

Before he could even comprehend his actions, Keith reached up and grabbed Lance's hand, pressing it back onto his shoulder. When he saw Lance's confused expression, however, he immediately let go, taking a step away from the boy.

"Keith, what's up?" Lance asked.

Keith just gaped at him. "Um… let's go eat," he muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. The blush he had been fighting against had won the battle, and he could feel its searing heat under his skin, swallowing him whole with embarrassment.

The other boy studied his face for a moment. Please don't call attention to it, don't say anything, Keith begged internally.

However, Lance's face just broke into another brilliant smile. "What, didja get smacked too hard on the head by the Galra or something? C'mon, let's go!" And his face lit up and he just beamed, and Keith was awestruck once more, completely helpless as Lance dragged him by the hand (which was far too warm to be natural- either he was sick, or Lance was sick, or they were both sick, and Keith didn't know which excuse made him feel better) into the cafeteria. And as he pushed around spoonful after spoonful of green goo on his plate, letting the banter and chatter of his teammates wash over him, his eyes kept drifting up to look at the Cuban boy innocuously smiling brighter than a thousand stars across the table.

It was certainly no longer a regular Tuesday. But, whenever Lance's eyes caught his, and the boy's smile grew just a little wider for Keith, he knew he didn't mind the change from the norm. He just had another reason to want to protect the boy- his team, his family, and now, his love- and that was fine by him.